Dry mouth help

Just got my CPAP last week after an in-home study; Dreamstation with heated humidifier and hose and a nasal mask. First night - no dry mouth. Every night since, my mouth is dry when I wake up, even though I have the humidity at 3 and the heated tubing. If I am opening my mouth, it's not waking me up...and usually the rushing air will. I tried a chin strap off amazon, but was left with marks on my face, which isn't great for coming to work I have a follow up next Weds and would love suggestions on what to ask - full face mask? Different chin strap? Anyone else have a similar issue/suggested solutions?

If you think it's mouth breathing, a different chin strap, a ff mask or mouth taping will be the answer. You might try the mouth taping first (cheapest) to see if that is , in fact, the problem.

It can take very little mouth breathing to dry the mouth out. I have seen it with as little as 10 minutes (I can usually spot it on the leak graph).
So learn to look at your software data, particularly the leak graphs to see just how much of an impact any mouth breathing is making on the leak itself...leak is leak no matter where it comes from and significant mouth breathing will show up on the leak graphs.

Going to a full face mask won't necessarily fix the dry mouth. We have a lot of full face mask users here complaining of dry mouth. Lots of factors involved. Going to a full face mask will help prevent loss of therapy pressure out the mouth though...you may or may not need a full face mask from that stand point...gotta evaluate the leak data to know for sure.

Some people just get a dry mouth from the least little mouth breathing even using a full face mask with humidity set to maximum. Bad luck I guess.
There are some things you can do though to try to limit that annoyance.

First thing though is get the software and learn about the leak graphs so you can decide just how big of a problem the mouth breathing might be in terms of affecting the effectiveness of your therapy.

And yes...we can sleep right through some pretty serious leaks from whatever source. I do it all the time.

Don't know about the software
https://sleep.tnet.com/equipment

Hopefully your DreamStation isn't the brick that won't give you leak graphs...you need model DSX400 or higher for full data.
If they gave you a brick or half assed brick..now is the time to swap it and get a full data machine.
It's pretty important to know if leaks are impacting therapy or not no matter if a person mouth breathes or not.
Mouth breathing isn't the only kind of leak we can be doing.

Pugsy wrote: Going to a full face mask won't necessarily fix the dry mouth. We have a lot of full face mask users here complaining of dry mouth. Lots of factors involved. Going to a full face mask will help prevent loss of therapy pressure out the mouth though...you may or may not need a full face mask from that stand point...gotta evaluate the leak data to know for sure.

Some people just get a dry mouth from the least little mouth breathing even using a full face mask with humidity set to maximum. Bad luck I guess.

I am one of those with bad luck in this area! Always wake up with a really dry mouth no matter the humidity setting. I've tried several different things and none of them work. But at least with the mask I use I know I'm not losing therapy pressure, and to me that's the most important thing.

Having said this, many people are able to take care of the dry mouth problem, so hang in there. Use the software to figure out if leaks are the issue and then you can go from there.

xylimelts, ACT dry mouth spray and melts, Biotene products are good to use while using your cpap.

I use a FFM and still get a dry mouth every morning. I started using the Xylimelts regularly and they do help a little.

Using a FFM significantly reduced my dry mouth. It was horrible waking up at night feeling like I was about to choke

Has anyone tried the Biotine or ACT products? They have a spray and a mouth wash for dry mouth. I tried a lozenge but for me I have healthy spit supply so I was starting to feel like a Saint Bernard during the day.

lliann wrote:Has anyone tried the Biotine or ACT products? They have a spray and a mouth wash for dry mouth. I tried a lozenge but for me I have healthy spit supply so I was starting to feel like a Saint Bernard during the day.

I've tried several Biotine products, ACT, Xylimelts...nothing really helps much. I do keep using the Biotine toothpaste, though, just in case it's helping a little.

I think what I find confusing is that I re-started with a nasal mask (about 3 weeks ago) and had good numbers and ok mouth. Then it all started to droop.

So I started trying all the solutions and it's getting better but there is at least once or twice I wake up to find my inside lips have been glued to my teeth. I am actually getting a sore tooth or sore teeth in my upper right side. I take great care of my teeth but my gums are older and either its affecting my gums or maybe I have slightly cracked molar that is reacting to being dried out and dried up every night for a few times. Or maybe I am holding my teeth tight to keep my mouth shut? This is obviously an imperfect science.

lliann wrote:I think what I find confusing is that I re-started with a nasal mask (about 3 weeks ago) and had good numbers and ok mouth. Then it all started to droop.

So I started trying all the solutions and it's getting better but there is at least once or twice I wake up to find my inside lips have been glued to my teeth. I am actually getting a sore tooth or sore teeth in my upper right side. I take great care of my teeth but my gums are older and either its affecting my gums or maybe I have slightly cracked molar that is reacting to being dried out and dried up every night for a few times. Or maybe I am holding my teeth tight to keep my mouth shut? This is obviously an imperfect science.

I wear a Hybrid mask (nose and mouth covered), and I still have this horrid dry mouth. I usually wake up with my tongue "glued" to the roof of my mouth (or some such nonsense!). I take good care of my teeth as well, but do have dental issues that the dentist says is because of this dry mouth stuff. I started using a prescription fluoride toothpaste several times a day earlier this year.(in addition to the Biotene) and have started going to the dentist for checkups more often. At least if (when!) a cavity starts, going more often will catch it earlier so less money and less work to fix! Oh, a couple of my medications cause dry mouth, so I'm getting dried out from several different angles.

Excessive dry mouth is what lead me to seek out this forum. I've tried Biotene right before getting in bed and it seems to last long enough for me to fall asleep, but at some point I wake up with the Serengeti in my mouth. I've tried the Xylamelts and the results have been hit or miss. I still end up with dry mouth, but I can rehydrate by closing my mouth and letting the melt re-coat it.

I was using nasal pillows and my mouth started dropping open so I switched to a semi-full face mask, but that has created new challenges and so far no improvement with dry mouth.

lliann wrote:Has anyone tried the Biotine or ACT products? They have a spray and a mouth wash for dry mouth. I tried a lozenge but for me I have healthy spit supply so I was starting to feel like a Saint Bernard during the day.

I'm not on CPAP (at least yet), but do use Biotene toothpaste. I tried the other stuff like the gels, meh.... The toothpaste at least keeps my lips from sticking to my teeth, but Vaseline could do that way better (that's what beauty queens use to keep smiling when they're nervous).

My mouth gets extremely dry even with the Biotene toothpaste. My latest trick is Simply Saline, two squirts into each nostril. It thins the mucus in the throat. If I get up in the night for the bathroom, I do another set of Simply Saline squirts.

Simply Saline feels great by the way, IMO....

All I can do is tell you what works for me. I use the GC Dry Mouth gel just before I put my full face mask on. I turn the humidifier setting to zero. I completely fill the water chamber with ice cubes. This gives me cool air to breather rather than heated air. Every once in awhile I have to use a second dab of the dry mouth gel but not too often.

I use "XyliGel for Dry Mouth and Tooth Decay" and suggest ordering three of the sample size as trials. https://www.oracoat.com/collections/pro ... 7528099393